Blinded
by darkmagnolia
Summary: XIAOYIN. AU & OOC. Xiaoyu and Jin are busy with their own careers and have little time for anything else. Why are they so blind to what is so obvious to everybody around them?
1. Chapter 1: Some Things Never Change

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A/N: After reading everyone's wonderful Xiaoyin stories, I was inspired to finally write my own. I only hope that I have the discipline to complete what I have started. This story is AU and OOC – so please don't complain if you think "Xiaoyu would never do that!" or "Jin would never say that!"

Also, a bit of fun from me. The idea for this story came from one of my favourite songs. I'll be dropping hints (ie. clips of lyrics) throughout this fic so guess away.

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**Chapter 1: Some Things Never Change**

Twenty-nine year old Jin Kazama, acclaimed corporate turnaround artist and CEO of Mishima Zaibatsu emitted a frustrated sigh as his right palm slammed the reports he was studying. The object of his ire was obvious – the financial statements from Mishima Zaibatsu's latest joint venture with Ito Developments were less than satisfactory. The red ink made Jin's eyes ache. Every page contained cost overruns, performance problems, and delays.

"A mistake", he thought; a mistake to go along with Chairman Ito's suggestion that his son Kitaro be put in charge of the project.

Kitaro Ito was untested and irresponsible; he was known more for being the womanizing son of the innovative founder of Ito Development than his financial expertise or experience. His legendary exploits with Tokyo debutantes and pop stars was well chronicled in the local tabloids.

Jin sighed again and cursed the day he had agreed to allow Kitaro to head the venture out of respect for the old Chairman. Now he was going to have to try to clean the mess up from the side-lines. He would have to be subtle – direct interference was not the way Japanese business worked. As if he didn't already have enough to do. Pushing himself away from his desk, Jin stood to stretch his legs and glanced out the panoramic windows of his 45th floor office. Looking down he could just detect the flow of traffic on the busy street below. The cars had a hypnotizing effect and when Jin realized he was drifting he turned around to resume his work. As he settled back into his chair, he became aware of a new message in his inbox and, noting the sender, opened it with a small smile. While anything was a welcome distraction from the Matsushita mess, he would have welcomed a distraction coming from this quarter any hour any day of the year.

* * *

Hey Big bro,

Hope you're doing well. Just wanted to let you know that as soon as I finish up on this project in Johannesburg, I'll be flying in to Tokyo for my next assignment. I'll be working on some shopping centre under construction in Tokyo's old warehouse district. Apparently I was personally requested by a Kitaro Ito who is heading up the project on behalf of Ito Development. Are you familiar with him or the company? Anyways, I'm looking forward to being back in familiar surroundings for a while – I'm dying for some good izakaya and I'm dying to see you. It's hard to believe that it's nearly been two years since Julia and Hwoarang's wedding – has it really been that long since we last met? I should be in on May 10. Everything has already been taken care of (I have a suite at the Four Seasons) so don't worry about making any further arrangements. Take care till then, and don't drown in all that money you're making.

Love always, Xiao

PS. Did you see the cover story they did on me in the March edition of "Physics Today"? The picture isn't great, but the article! The newsstand guy told me that I looked like a steamed lobster, I was blushing so much. Who would have thought that the name Ling Xiaoyu would someday be in the same sentence as "award-winning roller-coaster engineer"? Lol. Mr. Wada must have had a fit.

PPS. Congratulations are in order for you as well - Tokyo's most eligible bachelor for the fourth year running huh? I manage to snag copies of the Tokyo Star every once in a while. What did you do? Bribe the entire Star editorial staff? I'm glad to see that some things never change.

* * *

"Xiao is involved in the Mishima-Ito project? Why on earth would a roller-coaster engineer be involved with a shopping…" Jin's voice trailed off as the answer dawned on him. He deftly rifled through the sheets of paper on his desk. "Budget…entertainment expenditures…an _indoor amusement park_! Why that son of a…."

An indoor amusement park had certainly _not _come up during Mishima's negotiations with Ito. His life had just become infinitely more complicated with Xiao involved in the same project on which he intended to run onside interference. Still, it would be good to see Xiao again. Jin began to feel his anger fade and something else take its place. It would be very good.

Jin had seen the article in Physics Today – had in fact done a comical double take at the sight of the familiar face smiling from the magazine rack at the newsstand outside his office. He had surprised the magazine seller by buying every copy and, bursting with pride, had attended the rest of the day's meetings with a goofy grin on his face. That same evening he mailed his extra copies to Julia and Hwoarang, Steve, Christie, and even Mr. Wada, Xiao's high school math teacher.

Xiao had come a long way from her days of bouncy pig-tails and loud dresses. His little Xiao was all grown up. She had matured and had found her calling. Jin still remembered the day Xiao had told him of her plans…..

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At the sound of his name and the sight of a small figure bursting through his door and doing a magnificent belly flop on his bed, Jin abandoned his calculator and his accounting homework with equanimity. Homework would have to wait; from experience, he knew that no more work could be done once Xiao pranced into his room and proceeded to jump up and down on his bed chanting his name.

"What is it Xiao?" After a year of living with his grandfather's ward, he was used to Xiao's sudden demands on his attention.

"Jin, I've come to a decision," Xiao's eyes were solemn as she settled on her knees and hugged a pillow to her chest.

"And?" Jin looked at Xiao expectantly. "What have you decided this time?"

"I spoke with the school's career counselor today and I've decided what I want to do with my life. Remember that talk we had about how if I wanted my dreams to come true I would have to make them happen on my own? My dream for as long as I can remember was to build an amusement park. I realize now that Xiaoyu Land was just the silly dream of a silly little girl. I know there's never going to be a Xiaoyuland, so I'm going to try and do the next best thing to running my own amusement park. I'm going to design roller-coasters!" Xiaoyu glowed at this pronouncement.

Jin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He chose his next words carefully. "Xiao, you know that designing roller-coasters requires a good grasp of _math _right? And we all know how much you hate math." Jin uncrossed his arms and moved to the bed. He sat down beside the person he considered his little sister; he hated to be the one to burst her bubble.

"Of course I know that! But applied math is different. Math makes more sense when it's not just numbers floating around in the air but is actually applied to something. Besides, I really want to do this. I'm taking physics next term."

He remained silent beside her, but slung his arm companionably around her shoulders and rested his chin on her head. He didn't know what to say. "Xiao…"

Xiao's excitement visibly dulled at the doubt imbued in that one syllable. It was at that moment she realized how important his opinion, his approval, his support was to her. How much she looked up to him. She knew what he was going to say and spoke before he could.

"Jin, you always said that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. If you don't think I can do this, what do you think other people will be saying? Miharu laughed when I told her. The career counselor told me I should consider beauty school. Beauty school!" Xiao blinked back tears.

She felt another wave of disappointment sweep over her. If Jin didn't have faith in her, then there was nobody else. They all thought of her as a frivolous child with dreams far beyond her reach. Xiao shifted away and tried to slide towards the edge of the bed as she felt Jin gently drop a kiss into her hair. His next words made her pause.

"No more tears. First things first Xiao, engineers don't cry. Nor do they give up when faced with what seems to be an insurmountable obstacle; they only work harder to find a solution."

Jin tilted Xiao's face until he could see her eyes. "I believe in you – never ever forget that. I meant what I said before. You of all people could do anything if you'd only put your mind to it. Math? You can do math Xiao, just try doing your math homework once in while," Jin grinned. "If you need help, you know I'm always here."

Xiaoyu was radiant as she threw her arms around him. Pressing her pale cheek against his tanned one, she whispered, "Thanks Jin. I knew I could count on you."

Jin's faith in Xiao had been well founded. Her unshakable resolve in achieving her dream of becoming a roller coaster engineer represented a sort of turning of tides. The skepticism she inevitably encountered only fueled her determination and for the first time, her math homework was handed in on time. Xiao changed. She no longer headed straight to the arcades after school but went home to study in Heihachi's massive library. Gone also were her days of shopping sprees with Miharu armed and very dangerous…with Heihachi's credit card. There were many nights when Jin, passing her room to use the bathroom at 2 a.m., could still see her desklamp shining through the crack under her door. Jin's concern began to mount – Was she working too hard? Was she eating enough? But her smile when she won the physics prize at the end of the year! To Xiao, it had all been worth it.

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As Jin typed a response to Xiaoyu's email, he realized how much he had missed his "little sister". Like her and her dream of becoming a rollercoaster designer, he had become consumed with his own work at the Mishima Zaibatsu. The only reason he was still Tokyo's most eligible bachelor was because he hardly had time to date! Jin finished the email with a short description of the Mishima-Ito project. He closed with "Love, Jin" and clicked the send button.

"Yoko, can you please put Chairman Ito on the line," Jin spoke into the intercom. "Tell him it's about the Mishima-Ito shopping centre and his son."

He could hardly wait for May 10 to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner

A/N: Lazy is my middle name so it's all your reviews that guilt me…ahem, I mean keep me accountable in updating this story. I'm going to try to complete this before September because once school starts, I know I'll never update. I didn't know that my settings were on signed reviews only – thanks for letting me know Kyona. And for all you reviewers hoping for more Xiaoyin action soon, you may have to wait a little longer – my apologies but I really didn't want to rush character development. I also wanted to further flush out Xiaoyu and Jin's relationship. When I get the chance, I'll try to review all your stories as well - espeically since many of your Xiaoyins inspired mine. Happy reading!

**Chapter 2: Dinner**

Jin's years of martial arts training and meditation allowed him to sense Xiao's presence long before she emerged from the international arrivals terminal. As he felt her nearing, he took advantage of his height and broad shoulders to easily maneuver his way to the front of the mob of people clustered around the waiting area.

He felt a hard knot of nervousness suddenly form deep in his stomach as another non-descript traveler stepped out from behind the sliding doors. Because there was no reason for him to feel nervous about seeing Xiao again after two years, Jin quickly dismissed it as indigestion. He probably shouldn't have eaten the sea urchin at lunch, he reasoned.

The sandblasted glass doors slid open again to reveal a portly businessman anxiously engrossed in his Blackberry and almost completely hidden behind him…

"Xiao!" Jin felt his anxiety melt away at the sight of her. He quickly stepped up to her and engulfed her in a hug.

"Jin! What are you doing here?" How did you know when I was arriving?" Xiao's voice was muffled by Jin's soft cashmere sweater as she dropped her overnight bag to return his embrace. He was as big as ever; no matter how much she stretched, her arms couldn't quite reach all the way around him.

"Yoko made some calls," he said simply. "Kitaro Ito arranged for someone to pick you up but I offered to come instead." He pulled away and drank her in, a smile on his lips. She looked the same. Well, not quite the same, he corrected. She was older. Her face was thinner, with new angles and new shadows that only made the contrast between the fairness of her skin and the darkness of her hair more pronounced. Her crooked grin however, was reassuringly familiar if somewhat wan. Her eyes were still bright but they were also tinged by weariness and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Jin was forced to admit that during her absence, his little Xiao had become a woman; a beautiful and fiercely intelligent woman. Jin's grin fell slightly as his thumb traced the dark smudges under her eyes. "Working hard I see," he said finally. He made it a statement of fact and not a question. With his typical brisk efficiency, he smoothly swung her bag onto his shoulder and took her elbow, steering her towards baggage claim.

Xiao rolled her eyes; he was so protective of her.

"Several last minute issues came up so I haven't been sleeping much over the last few days," Xiao defended herself. "Late nights and early mornings are part of the job. The important thing is that I managed to get everything done on schedule and on budget." She quickened her pace to keep up with Jin's long strides and in between answering questions about Johannesburg and the new "hyper-coaster" she had designed, studied him discreetly from behind her hair.

He looked good. He had always looked good. But like her, he had been working too hard. She could see the beginning of fine lines around his eyes and the corner of his lips. And was that a glint of silver in his hair? Xiao looked closer – nothing substantial, just a stray strand of grey. It wasn't fair. Instead of making him look old, they only gave his chiseled features an air of authority and confidence. Judging from the heads that turned and the coy glances he received as he strode down the wide corridor of the terminal, his charisma remained undiminished.

"So, what do you want to do now? How about we get something to eat? There's this great little place in Shibuya that I think you'd like," Jin unwittingly interrupted Xiao's little assessment of him. They had picked up her luggage and were waiting for the airport valet to deliver Jin's car.

"Sure." Xiao turned her head away to hide her flush. "That sounds great." She would rather die than be caught gawking _at_ Jin _by_ Jin. She would never hear the end of it if he did. Luckily he wasn't a mind reader. After all, he didn't need her help in making his already big ego even bigger.

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"Shut up. People are starting to stare," Xiao hissed. Even though the restaurant was dim, lit only by the low light of candles, she threw a cautious glance over her shoulder to scan the other patrons before turning back to Jin with narrowed eyes. She continued to glare at him as she popped the last piece of takoyaki into her mouth. 

"I'm trying to stop." Jin clutched his side as he heaved for air and tried to stifle the last of his chuckles. His jaw began to twitch again as Xiao's expression of mock outrage slowly transformed into a look of bliss as she savoured the takoyaki. Jin bit the inside of his cheek and used every ounce of his self-possession to school his face into neutrality. Xiao's half-closed eyes and parted lips made her look as though she was in the throws of passion. Knowing Xiao and her passion for izakaya, she was probably in seventh heaven.

Jin had taken her to his newest discovery - a small, quaint restaurant hidden away in a hard-to-find back alley in the middle of Shibuya. Unpretentious and warm, it was decorated to resemble an izakaya, a traditional Japanese pub-restaurant. With the exception of an impossibly large swordfish that hung over the threshold, the izakaya was simple and true to its rustic roots – its tiny interior was largely unadorned and lined with roughly hewn oak benches and tables polished to a glossy shine. At a table in the far corner, Jin and Xiao huddled around pots of sake and green tea reminiscing over old times. Several empty plates littered the table, ready evidence of the end of a good meal.

Xiao finally swallowed and gave off a contented sigh before continuing. "It was a long time ago okay? It's not like you didn't made a fool of yourself in high school too. I may have been three years younger than you but word always got around – especially when it was juicy gossip about you. You may not have realized it, but every student wanted to either _be you_ or be_ with you_."

She could never understand how Jin could have been so oblivious to his own popularity. Every school had its own little social hierarchy. It just so happened that at Mishima Polytechnic, Jin Kazama had reached the top of that hierarchy without even trying.

"You may have been the king of the school but you still had your moments. Remember when Hwoarang loosened the screws on your desk so that when you sat down in class, the whole thing collapsed? Or when you wore your pajama pants to school because in the dark you mistook them for your uniform? That was priceless."

Jin grimaced and took a sip of sake to erase the humiliating images that surfaced from the dredges of his memory. "Don't even remind me of those hideous plaid pants. I don't know what grandfather was thinking when he chose _green and blue plaid _pantsAt least you girls got to wear cute skirts that were nice and…um…short." Jin wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and then ducked to avoid the grain of rice Xiao flicked at him with her chopsticks.

"Very funny," Xiaoyu wrinkled her nose at Jin. "That reminds me, remember Hwoarang's shoes? The pair with the really shiny, reflective buckles? We used to wonder why he would sidle up really close to us and then stare at his feet. At first we thought he was just shy. After a while, it became abundantly clear that he wasn't really the shy type and that he was studying the buckles on his shoes a little bit too closely. Then Miharu figured out he was using them to look up our skirts!"

"How could I forget? Considering the circumstances, I think Hwoarang got off lucky with two black eyes, and a dislocated shoulder. Well, Julia's got him on a nice tight leash now." Jin raised his cup in a toast, "She did what no one else could: she tamed the beast within."

Xiao's glass met Jin's with a clink. "I know what you mean. It's hard to believe that Hwoarang is going to be a _dad. _How far along is Julia? Five months now?"

"Something like that."

"It's funny how we've all changed so much – I mean, in four months Hwoarang and Julia will be parents! I should give Jules a call sometime. I haven't spoken to her since I first heard the news. I've been so busy with work, I just never seem to find the time to call," Xiao shook her head ruefully.

"Tell me about it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a hold of you?" Jin asked.

"I know Jin and I'm sorry." Xiao reached across the table and placed her hand over his in a silent apology.

Jin sandwiched her small hand between his much larger ones and waited for her to go on.

"I know I haven't been a very good friend for the last little while and I know the fact that I live out of hotel rooms 365 days of the year is no excuse. But like I said earlier, my job demands a lot from me."

"Xiao, maybe it's time you considered slowing down a bit," Jin sighed. "Take a vacation - I know you haven't had any real time off since Hwoarang's wedding. Or at the very least get your own apartment. "I mean, you should at least have a permanent home base. You can't live out of two suitcases and ship all your stuff from place to place forever."

"I'll think about it." Xiao's reply was evasive. Detecting the change in direction their conversation had taken and the note of concern in Jin's voice, her internal defences had instinctively slammed into place. She slid her hand out from between Jin's and tucked it back into her lap. "So, how is construction on the Mishima-Ito shopping centre progressing?"

Jin welcomed the abrupt change of subject. While he was proud of Xiao and her success, her complete absorption with her work to the exclusion of her friends, family, and even herself was so troubling it had become an unspoken issue and source of tension between them. Xiao was at risk of burn out; he had seen it so many times before with other people and recognized its precursors. Not for the first or last time, Jin vowed to broach the subject with her – when the time was right. Since the time never seemed right, he proceeded to answer her question.

"Not too badly I suppose. Other than some changes to the design of the main concord because of fire bylaw requirements and some material backlogs, construction is proceeding relatively smoothly. Your area hasn't be affected. If Kitaro hasn't sent you the latest construction and structural update, I'll get Yoko to courier you a copy tomorrow morning."

"And the proposal regarding the glass atrium over the coaster's future site?"

"It's finally gotten the go ahead from the board –pending your approval of course. Since your coaster will have, by far, the highest frequencies of all the other rides planned, the type of glass required and the height of the dome will depend on your design. You'll have to discuss it with the site engineer – all your torques, lambdas, and Newtons are way beyond me and my rudimentary Physics 101."

"How about occupancy? The last I heard, you were trying to secure the Fujiyama Group's department store. Are you still in negotiations with them?"

"We signed the contract two days ago." Jin couldn't resist a small smirk – after Kitaro's showy presentations and lavish gifts to Fujiyama's CEO failed to bring them any closer to a firm commitment, he had personally secured the deal with a short phone call to Fujiyama's majority shareholder. "The press release isn't scheduled until tomorrow – you'll hear all about it then. Demand for units has been, on the whole, quite good. In addition to Fujiyama, we also signed a ten year lease with another anchor tenant and have conditional contracts for seventy percent of the other units. The amusement park has been a big draw…"

As Jin began to go into the details of his leasing strategy, Xiaoyu let out a quiet breath of relief. With the conversation safely shifted to business, she had put off his inevitable lecture to another day.

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Jin slipped the keycard into the slot and waited for the light to flash green before pushing the door open. 

"Home sweet home," Xiao said as she stepped through the door and into the narrow foyer. "For the next three months at least." She peered into the bathroom and then the closet, taking in her surroundings as was her habit. "Generic beige hotel interior aside, it's not too shabby if I must say so myself."

Jin set Xiao's luggage by the single queen size bed. He made a 360 degree turn. "It's small, but there's a kitchenette. I doubt you'll be doing much cooking though."

"How well you know me big brother," Xiao laughed. She dropped onto bed and bounced a few times. "Firm, just like I requested. You may think this room is small but it's a lot better than what I had in South Africa. You're justaccustomed tostaying inthe Presidential Suite whenever you're away from Tokyo on business."

"That's not…" Jin's denial was cut off by Xiao's squeal of delight.

"Oooh! Flowers!" She jumped off the bed and pounced on a big bouquet of white orchids that had, until then, been concealed from her line of sight by Jin's form. Burying her face in the delicate petals, Xiao inhaled the spicy fragrance of the orchids before silently reading the accompanying card.

"Well, who's it from?" Jin was beginning to become impatient. Xiao's expression was as pleased as a cat and he mentally slapped himself for not thinking of flowers as well.

"They're from Kitaro Ito. What a sweet gesture on his part. In the card, he writes that he hopes I had a good flight and that he looks forward to meeting me tomorrow."

Jin scowled. The orchids were probably the brainchild of Kitaro's assistant who likely sent flowers to all of Kitaro's new female acquaintances. Instead of expressing his opinion, Jin opted to ask Xiao about breakfast tomorrow morning.

"No can do I'm afraid. I have a 7 o'clock morning meeting on site." Xiao pursed her lips in distaste. "I'll just grab a rice roll and eat on the way there. Mr. Ito's driver will pick me up and take me there."

"In that case, I better go. It's getting late." Jin walked to the door, "I'll call you about dinner tomorrow. If I can manage it, I may even drop by to see you on site in the afternoon."

"All right," Xiao saw him to the door.

"Goodnight." He rubbed her head fondly. "I'm glad you're back Xiao."

"I'm glad to be back. G'night," Xiao impulsively rose on her tip-toes to give him a peck on his cheek. She closed the door behind him.

Eleven thirty. Xiaoyu did some quick calculations in her head. There was enough time for her to take a quick shower and get some work done as well. She only needed three hours of sleep. With half an hour to shower and half an hour to get ready before the driver came at six thirty, she had three solid hours to review her design.

She plugged in her laptop and while it was warming up, snagged a towel and turned on the shower. As the hot water hit her bare back, she pondered over dinner with Jin. She knew what Jin had wanted to say. But her work ethic was the reason behind her meteoric and unprecedented rise from drafter to conceptual designer over the course of four short years. "I'll take some time off soon. Just not now," Xiao promised herself.

Turning to face the rushing the water, Xiao bit her lip; she had to prove herself worthy. She just had to.


End file.
